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Topic: A community project for the summer perhaps? (Read 69366 times)

How would you like to join some kind of community project? I don't know what it would be, only that it would have been very fun and exciting. It should be something big, impressive and advanced, but still something that could be broken down in smaller bits, so that everyone can help with theirs. Of course it should be something robotic, but then theres a huge problem with this beeing an internet community and everyone is on their own spot on the earth. It would be ok for me to send a small part to someone housing and managing the project itself.

Ok, so this is as far as i have been thinking about it. Now you do it!

there's no reason why it could not be a communal design project.everybody taking part has to design a module or component that is compatible with a predetermined set of standards.it would still be up to the individual to build their own copy of any component they wanted to use.

before starting decide on a $ budget for each component.next decide a set of standards that will enable the components to be used together.

if you are mechanically minded maybe you will design a robot chassis. if you fancy an electronics project, design a servo controller or PC to Bot radio link.

there would be no reason more than one version of each component could not be designed, as long as they interact with the other components in the same way.when you want to build a robot you could just pick and mix from all the modules everyone else has designed.

Everyone that wants to can help design and plan, and a team of people who live close to eachother actually build it. Ofcourse people located elsewhere can do their bit and send the result there, if they want to pay for the shipping costs...

I don't think it's a good idea to have builders all across the globe, I mean come on, it's going to be big, but not impossible-to-builld-by-a-team-of-say-5-people - big.

And because we are a big group, it will be easier to find sponsors.Plus it's good advertising for SoR, so Admin will (hopefully) help alot. (read: building team leader)

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Have each person ( or group) be responsible for a part or the robot ( locomotion , brains , object avoidance) and it should be made in a way that anyone can use it . So each part would be a "black box" having three or something wires and each wire has a function. Easy interfaces

Also maybe we should choose a project? lol

Get a budget and then we'll talk!

Also people who live far away and do not want to pay for shipping can work on designing , programming , etc.!

Why not take advantage of the large distances. Maybe connect the robots to the internet and they'll communicate with each other that way. Making a real society of robots! Maybe we're really on to something here. We could construct some kind of protocol for adding information to a database connected to the internet, letting the robots store information, modify it and use it... The robots could be made in any way, with the restriction that it will handle the data in the same way, and beeing connected to internet.

This will be very convenient even for those with a low budget. Just add a wireless communication module to your robot and it's good to go.

Very cool I actually thought of the same thing . There also should be a plate for a signal wire for sensors. now we only need somebody with the time, patience, and tools. If everyvbody donates 1 dollar we would have plenty of $ for a project

About a signal wire plate: I don't think that will work very well because the cubes will slide and therefor probably get displaced and maybe short the circuit that way. Instead, the cubes could communicate through emitting IR lights placed in the sensor holes.

However, we should maybe focus on a project that we actually can succeed with and something that newbies could help with as well.

I like the openservo project, it is very upgradable, and useful in many different branches of robotics.

We could do something like OpenStepper with stepping motors, or OpenSonar, or anything. These projects would extend the functionality of commonly used components in robots.

i agree in principal but have a few reservations about following the OpenServo project's design philosophy.while it is undoubtedly a very good project it requires the use of surface mount components and custom made PCBs.while this would not be a problem for some of us, it would be nice for people using strip board to be able to design and build the modules as well.

custom PCBs and surface mount components should be optional rather than required i think.

i like the idea of using an i2c bus to connect modules like the OpenServo project though.while it is a bit difficult for beginners to trouble shoot i2c i can't think of anything better.it's available in the hardware on many different microcontrollers as well as several stand alone devices.

I really think the robot should be made for a contest, that way there's a clear goal...

The block idea is pretty cool, but I don't think it's suitable for the community project. And having a seperate powersource for every block really isn't ideal. Also there is alot of friction causing a very big loss of power, so it'll have to be lubricated...all the time, because the oiled side of the blocks also touch the ground.

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To relax after some hard work on robotics: A very fun free online text based MMORPGorgcrime.net

My idea is this: How about we make a fast action, rugged, practically unstoppable little vehicle type thing that can avoid objects outside over rough terrain and such? Have certain people designing the chassis for it and such and then other people working on different sensors and motors and have a team of programmers to work on the code? I like vehicles a lot for some reason lol

I'm not sure if they are still doing the contest but I think we could look into the space elevator contest. The contest is to build a self propelled robot that climbs a tether at speed. They finished the first stage or 2. They just keep raising the tether length and speed requirements. Not sure on the rules but I think it needs to be solar powered. So people have been using mirrors to direct more light onto the panels on the bot. My first thought was why is the 6 students moving these mirrors by hand? Build a tracking system and follow the robot up the tether with servos and many small mirrors would be a great project and we could have everyone build a mirror/servo unit based on a design and have a bunch of people work on code and the robot. Would be a fun project. And its known enough that sponsors would be easier to get.